The Ring He Gave To You Will Loose It's Shine
by SereneCalamity
Summary: Dom and Letty had never put any put any restrictions on the relationship they had. Dom wanted her, but it wasn't until she's unavailable that he realizes just how much. Dotty. OneShot.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey, this will be a two shot. The title was inspired by a ling in the song _Don't Bother _by Shakira. If you guys have an requests/prompts for a oneshot, let me know. I'm also apologising in advance for an mistakes, because I was so tired and I just wanted to get it up for you guys!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the title, or the characters._

No one really knew the right way to describe Dominic Toretto and Leticia Ortiz's relationship.

Partners in crime.

Two peas in a pod.

Bestfriends.

As much as those words said about the two of them they weren't the perfect ones to describe what happened between the two. And the reason that no one could entirely find the way to describe the relationship was because no one knew exactly what it was. There was endless speculation but nothing was ever confirmed. Every now and then, something would get brought up, usually when they were drunk, usually one of the boys. Vince Martin would joke around that he hadn't seen Dom with another girl in a long time, and did it mean he was hooked up on someone. Or Leon Eppes would say that maybe getting screwed could take the frown off Letty's face. They would get amused looks, sometimes Dom would smirk and say something about how it would take a pretty special chick to hold him down. Whatever the case, they were careful not to let anyone in on exactly what happened behind closed doors.

And things definitely happened.

"Just stay another half hour," Dom grumbled as he rolled over, looking across the room to where Letty was pulling on a shirt over her bra. She glanced at him over her shoulder as she pulled her hair in a ponytail.

"Nah, man," she murmured, searching for her skirt. "Mia's been getting up earlier and earlier to study. I don't want to get caught doing the walk of shame down the stairs." Dom rolled his eyes, and then grunted as he got out of bed and came over to where she was standing by the door.

"Aight, girl," he mumbled, dropping a quick kiss to her mouth. "I'll see you at breakfast." Letty slipped out of his room, shutting the door with a practiced silence that came from the last two years of sneaking around. The twenty-one year old lay back on his bed, linking his hands behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. They had been doing this for a while now, and it felt just as good as the first time. Every now and then, he would wonder if he should propose the idea of a relationship with her, but it was like she could sense it. She would stop coming up to his room, stop sending him dirty looks across the garage, and he would end up between the sheets with a nameless racer chaser. After a year and a half, he realized that it was her way of telling him that he couldn't commit to her, even if he tried. That was one of the things he appreciated most about Letty; most girls would throw a hissy fit if they were screwing around and he couldn't stop himself from fucking another. Letty just seemed to accept it. He wasn't sure how she really felt about it, because she never said anything. Sometimes, he thought she was jealous, when she was drinking in the kitchen with Mia and he would walk toward the stairs with his arm around a racer bunny. She would narrow her eyes and he would see the corners of her mouth tighten. But then she would turn back to Mia, or Leon, or whoever she was talking to, and not spare him another glance.

What he had said to the boys was true though; it _would _take a pretty special chick to hold him down. And maybe, in a year or two, when he was more mature, he would settle down with her. Whenever he thought about ten years from now, it was always Letty who was there with him, swearing like a sailor and drinking them all under the table. He hadn't told anyone about it, he hadn't even told Letty how he felt, but he was pretty sure she knew. Sometimes he would go to bed twice, even three times with the same girl. But he didn't go back for two years. And he didn't show the kind of respect he did to the Latina.

Nah, he knew Letty was the girl for him. And when he was ready, he _was _going to make her his.

* * *

"Dom," Mia's voice was quiet. "Dom, how much longer is this going to carry on?" Dom looked over at his sister with lazy eyes.

"Don't know what you're talking about, Mi," he shrugged. Mia tried not to groan in frustration, knowing that it wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"Whatever the hell is going on with Letty," she replied. "You guys just need to get together already." Dom gave her a small smile and shook his head.

"You should know better than anyone, Mia," Dom grinned. "I don't think she'd have me." Mia didn't find what he said funny and turned back to the sink. The smile dropped from Dom's face and he knew that she was upset. When things had started between him and Letty, Mia had probably been the most understanding. The boys had joked about it endlessly, from the first time they saw Letty going red in the office when they had come back from lunch early. They poked and prodded at the pair of them until they realized they weren't getting anywhere. Mia hadn't said anything. After a year or so, she began getting annoyed, but still didn't say anything. Sometimes, when they began leaving a party early, shooting each other looks from across the room, Mia would block Dom's path and ask him where he was going. He would make some lame ass excuse and push past her and Mia would growl under her breath. But he knew that after nearly two years, she was getting upset that he wouldn't talk to her, tell her what was going on.

But the truth was, even if he wanted to talk about his and Letty's relationship, he couldn't.

Because he wasn't entirely certain of what was going on between them either.

* * *

Leon, Vince and Jesse Lomas had left over half an hour ago, leaving Dom and Letty alone in the garage. Letty was bent over the engine of a car, her fingers skimming over the engine and grease staining her skin. Dom had just finished up, and was now leaning against the wall, staring at her ass. Letty hadn't become aware of his eyes yet, and when she straightened up and stretched, Dom licked his lips when her shirt rose and exposed the smooth skin of her back. She hadn't been up to his room in nearly two weeks, and just being in the same room alone with her was getting him aroused. She finally turned around and saw him, an eyebrow raising and her lips turning upward in a smirk.

"Enjoying the view, man?" Her voice came out lazy, and husky, and Dom felt his fingers curl in response to the sexy tone.

"It's not bad," he replied, meeting her smile with a smirk of his own. Letty nodded once but stayed where she was, leaning against her car. Dom stared at her for a moment before pushing off the wall and coming over to her, putting his hands on either side of her on the car behind her. He heard her breathing catch in her throat as his firm chest pressed against her breasts, and he purposefully moved slightly, knowing that her nipples would be hardening under her shirt. "You haven't been in my bed in a while, Let," he growled as he dropped a kiss to her shoulder, and then to the curve of her neck, his lips slowly making their way up to her jaw bone. She tilted her head back, her fingers going to his hips and digging in as the sensations his mouth was making rushed through her body.

"You haven't been lonely. I saw the blonde skank sneak out the other morning," Letty murmured. Dom's lips faltered against her cheek at her words, and he couldn't help but feel guilty. He knew they had never made a commitment to each other, but two years with the Latina frequenting his bed, he felt he owed her something. "I'm not looking for an explanation, Dom," Letty's voice was soft and brought him back from his thoughts. "You don't owe me anything." She lifted her hands to his face and brought it around to meet her lips.

Dom wasn't sure how he felt about those words. _You don't owe me anything_. As the more time went on, he almost _wanted _to owe her something. He wanted her to know that she wasn't just another lay. But it was like she didn't want to know it, with the way she kept throwing up walls when he thought they were getting somewhere, he was pretty sure that she was reminding herself of his personality, as much as she was reminding him. It was as though she needed to see him with another girl to stop herself from feeling for him. He saw the way she looked at him sometimes, all soft and trusting, and then she would blink angrily, like she was pissed off at herself for feeling that way.

As he pulled her shirt over her head, his hands skimming over her stomach and going to her breasts, he realized that her eyes were distant. And it didn't matter how hard he kissed her mouth, or how soft he touched her centre, she still looked as though she were a hundred miles away.

* * *

"Yo, Letty!" Vince's shout echoed through the house. "Phone for you!" Letty grumbled under her breath as she got off her place on the sofa and made her way in the hallway. She took the phone from Vince and put it to her ear. Vince came back into the lounge, taking her spot on the sofa, exchanging a grin with Jesse, knowing Letty was going to give him a good kick when she came back in.

"Who was that on the phone?" Dom asked, trying not to appear to interested.

"I dunno. Sounded like a long distance call," Vince shrugged, his attention on the TV. Dom forced himself to stay where he was for another ten minutes, before getting up and casually making his way into the hallway. Letty wasn't there, and the phone was back on it's hook. He frowned and walked down the hall to her bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. He hadn't been in Letty's room for a good few months now, she was adamant about her privacy and usually the door was firmly shut. He opened it with the toe of his boot and was more than a little surprised when he took in the room. The drawers were all pulled out and empty, and the blankets were all folded at the end of her bed. He frowned and shut the door behind him, Letty giving a slight jump as she realized she wasn't alone.

"Fucking hell, man," she grumbled, turning back to the bag in front of her.

"What's going on here, Let?" He asked.

"It's a, uh, long story," Letty muttered before she finally turned around to face him. He wasn't sure how many times he had seen that expression on her face over these past few weeks. Strained, distant...As though something was weighing down on her. Dom wasn't sure how to approach her when she was like this, Letty didn't like talking about her feelings—that was more Mia's forte. And Dom wasn't one to talk about this kind of shit either. "Look, I need to take off for a few weeks." Dom's eyes widened.

"What?" He snapped.

"Look, a couple weeks ago my mum called from the DR and said my dad's real sick. She said that he should recover, but she just rang and said he's in hospital," Letty crossed her arm over her chest and took in a deep breath. Dom moved so he was standing directly in front of her and reached out and rubbed one of her arms lightly. She took a step back, moving away from his touch. "I don't want your pity—"

"God, it's not pity, Let!" Dom growled at her, annoyed at her response. "It's comfort, or whatever. You're family." Letty's gaze was still guarded, but she didn't pull away when he reached out again and gripped her elbow. He pulled her closer to him and his arms went around her waist, locking her small body against his. "You take all the time you need, Let. And you know we're always going to be here for you."

* * *

After a week of Letty being gone, she rang. The boys were out and Mia took the call. When everyone came home, Dom frowned when he saw Mia sitting at the kitchen table, holding the phone in her hands and staring down blankly.

"What's up, Mi?" Brian O'Conner asked, dropping his hands to his girlfriends shoulders.

"Letty's dad died," Mia murmured.

* * *

Letty didn't come home for months. She barely called, and when she did, it was only when Mia was home. Dom found himself getting more and more annoyed. She seemed to time her phone calls when she knew that everyone was at work—as though she was purposefully avoiding him. He tried not to over think things, but he couldn't help it. Letty had been a part of his life since she was nine years old and he was eleven, and when she turned seventeen and crawled into his bed one drunk night, she had become a lot more than just a friend. He rang her mothers number once, the one she had left with Mia, but no one had answered. He hadn't tried again. Ringing a girl once was already a milestone in his life, even if she hadn't answered.

"Hey, Mia," Leon called across the room one Sunday afternoon. "Any news from Letty?" Dom could have kissed Leon for asking the question he had been dying to ask for the past few weeks. Mia paused in the doorway from where she was carrying a pile of washing.

"Yeah," Mia's eyes flickered over to Dom who was watching her intently. "She said that her mums having a hard time keeping things together since her dad died. She's, uh...She's not sure when she's going to be able to get back." Dom felt his face closing up at her words and turned to the TV, his expression stoic. "She's going to try and get back for Christmas." Dom's head snapped up at that.

"Christmas?" He snapped. "That's three months from now!" Vince, Leon and Jesse all looked surprised at the outburst, although they had been noticing his worsening temper over the months that Letty had been gone. "So what, we're a holiday stop now?"

"C'mon, Dom," Vince murmured from his spot on the ground. "It's her ma." Dom didn't reply to that, just got up and stormed out of the room.

* * *

Eventually it was confirmed that Letty was going to be back for Christmas. Dom managed to catch her on the phone once, coming home on his lunch breaks almost every day and intercepting a call from Mia. The conversation was broken, and awkward, and finally Letty said she had to go. Dom wasn't sure what he had expected, but it was something more than what he got. Although, to be fair, when they had been alone together, talking wasn't something that they did.

Now all he had to do was wait for Christmas.

Mia had gone to pick up Letty from the airport by herself, saying that they needed to have 'girl talk'. She had cleaned the house and left the boys beginning dinner. Dom could barely keep still as they waited for the two girls to arrive. Six months was most definitely the longest time he had ever gone without seeing her, and he missed her like he was missing a part of himself. When Mia's car finally pulled up in the driveway, Dom had to force himself to stay in the kitchen, not to appear over eager. Jesse bounded outside and a moment later, came back in with his arms around Letty.

Dom couldn't take his eyes off her.

She grinned and laughed, giving Leon a hug and Vince a punch on the arm. She sounded the same, and she moved the same but there was just something different about the way she looked. Her hair was longer, straighter. She was wearing makeup—eyeliner, gloss, and eye shadow. And her clothes...She was wearing a tight grey mini-dress which enunciated her long legs and slim figure, with a cropped leather jacket over top. She finally ended up in front of Dom, and everyone tried to pretend they weren't watching them closely. Dom stared down at her and Letty met his gaze before he finally wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him.

"Since when you wear dresses?" Was his only grunt to her.

* * *

It took them two days until they fell against each other, naked, their lips fused together. She had come by the garage late, after everyone had already left. He was leaning against a car, sweaty from his days work, and looking as alluring as hell. Letty licked her lips as she came over to him, putting a hand down on the car next to him. He had looked to the side, following her hand up to her arm, to her shoulders and then finally to her face. Not a word was exchanged as he straightened up and stared down at her. Just being this close to him and all his raw masculinity made Letty's body begin to heat and her toes curl. His hand slowly made it's way up her skin and she tilted her neck back, shivers racing through her as his hand found her neck, rubbing soft circles at the base. Her eyes fluttered shut and her breathing came out short and harsh.

When her eyes opened, and she met his glazed orbs, she lunged at him. As they fell onto the old couch at the back of the garage, Dom couldn't believe he had gone this long without her. The way she knew his every move, the way she met his every stroke, the way she stared up at him and challenged him to bring her to her next high—Letty was an addiction, and he had been too long without his fix.

* * *

Letty announced her official move to the Dominican Republic a week after Christmas. The boys had been asking her when she was moving back into her room and she told them it wasn't going to happen. Mia didn't look particularly surprised. Dom, on the other, stormed out of the room, his face a thunder cloud. Letty had watched him go, her face tense, but she hadn't moved from her spot on the couch. It wasn't until he actually came back and physically dragged her out of the room that everyone knew it would be wise to leave the house. And they almost weren't quick enough—Vince could already hear the shouting begin as he was shutting the front door.

"You're just going to drop a bomb like that on us—on me?!" Dom roared as he slammed his door shut.

"You're hearing it just as soon as everyone else!" Letty snapped back. "Don't act like I was just keeping it from you!"

"But you should have given me a heads up—Mia didn't look particularly surprised!"

"Probably because Mia has been emailing me, and phoning me almost everyday!" That stopped Dom in his tracks. He frowned and turned to look at her.

"I thought you only rang a couple times a month," he stated. Letty crossed her arms over her chest.

"If that's all that Mia's been saying, then that's her business," she snapped. Dom didn't know whether to scream or cry. He couldn't believe that Mia hadn't told him she had been in so much contact with Letty—and he couldn't believe that Letty hadn't made that effort for him. Finally, he seemed to decide that he was more hurt than angry. He stared down at her, his eyes glowing with pain.

"Why didn't you contact me, Let?" His voice broke slightly and Letty had to look away to stop the guilt showing on her face.

"I didn't contact Leon or Vince or Jesse—"

"Don't try that with me, Letty," his voice was slightly harsher now. "What we had, it wasn't what you had with those other boys."

"We didn't really _have _anything, Dom!" Letty finally burst out. "We screwed around, we had fun—it didn't mean anything!" Dom growled under his breath.

"Didn't _mean anything_?!" He shouted. "Letty, how many mornings did I ask you stay?! How many afternoons at work did I ask you to wait for me?! How many times did I pass up another girl because I wanted it to be _you _in my bed?!"

"I didn't ask you to do any of that," Letty growled. "So don't act like you were doing me a favour."

"That's not what I meant! I just meant that we had something more than you ever had with those other boys! God, I thought we had enough that if you were planning on moving halfway around the world!" Dom couldn't believe that he actually had to spell it out for her. It was as though she was even denser when it came to relationships than he was. Letty pursed her lips and looked down at her feet. Dom frowned, realizing that for the first time, there was something else to what she was saying.

"I'm seeing someone, Dom," her voice was barely audible. He blinked twice.

"What?"

"There's this guy...He's the son of one of my mums friends," Letty was speaking quickly, as though she was trying to get it all out in one breath. "He's a great guy—amazing racer, better with cars that I am. And he—" she broke off.

"And he _what_?" Dom spat out.

"And he only sees me," she murmured. "I'm not just an option to him."

_I'm really sorry about any mistakes! I will get the second chapter up soon. This chapter is reeeeeeally long, it was just going to be a oneshot, but then I realized I will just add in another half later._

_Let me know what you guys think, leave a review :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_The response to the first part of this was incredible! I hope you guys aren't let down by the final half. Enjoy._

No-one knew what had happened between Dom and Letty, and everyone knew better than to ask. She left a few days later, and a quiet hum fell over the house the night after Mia had taken her to the airport. The boys settled down in front of the TV and Mia sat in the kitchen, her books spread out over the table. Dom was staring at the TV stonily, his whole body frozen in the same position he had been in when he fell down on the couch three hours ago. He hadn't said anything to Letty when she had come into the room to say goodbye, and as angry and hurt as he was now, he was regretting it already.

Everyone slowly made their way up to bed, but Dom stayed where he was. Every now and then, he would feel Mia's eyes on him and he knew that she was watching him from her station in the kitchen. She knew better than to come into the lounge and try and talk to him when he was in one of these moods. She tried to wait him out, but she had been up til two in the morning for the past week with Letty and her eyelids were getting heavy by the time it got around to midnight. Finally she went upstairs, washing her face in the bathroom sink and brushing her teeth. When she straightened up, Dom was leaning against the doorframe behind her, regarding her with dark eyes. She looked at him through the mirror, her own eyes steady. Eventually, he let out a sharp breath and ran a hand over his shaved head, pursing his lips.

"You know she was seeing someone?" His voice was gruff, as though he didn't care.

Mia knew better than that. She didn't, however, know how she was supposed to answer that question.

"Mia." His voice was sharper now as she took her time answering.

"Yeah," the brunette gave a short nod. "Yeah, I did." A thousand questions ran over her brothers face. She knew that he was dying to ask questions, dying to know more. But the years and years of keeping his feelings in check kept him in his place. He pursed his lips and nodded, turning around and swiftly walking down the hallway to his room.

* * *

Months went by, and Dom didn't hear anything new about Letty. He was pretty sure that Mia was still in contact with her, but he didn't ask and she didn't offer. The boys didn't bring her up. Sometimes, they would be in the middle of telling a story and realize they were going to mention her name. They would cut off mid-sentence and Dom's eyebrows would raise, his eyes flicking between the boys. He wouldn't say anything, just go back to whatever he was previously doing, but there would be an awkward tension in the air. Jesse would stick his cigarette in his mouth, Leon would chew on his tooth pick and Vince would lock his jaw in place, never good with uncomfortable situations.

There were girls coming in and out of the house, which wasn't unusual. But they seemed to come more frequently. Mia tried not to think about what was going on in the bedroom across the hall from her, but sometimes it got hard when she could actually hear the breathy moans. She knew it was her brothers way of trying to heal, even if she didn't agree with it. Sleeping around had always been her brothers way to deal with things—she wasn't sure if he realized that doing that was actually what had gotten him into this mess to begin with. Vince and Jesse were the same, the three drinking in the weekends after races, occasionally going out through the week, and bringing home whatever pretty girl caught their eye that night. Leon had found a girl that he was going steady with now, she was a sweet little brunette who knew absolutely nothing about cars. Mia loved having another girl around the house, but it wasn't the same. Loosing Letty was like loosing her family. She felt the same pain that she had felt when her father and mother had died. But she had the chance to get Letty back. There was something that might bring Letty back, and she had to try.

"Dom." He was laying on his back looking at the ceiling, his fingers interlocked over his stomach. He looked up when his sister came into the room, and attempted a half smile. She came into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Dom, you need to get Letty back." Any attempts at a smile promptly dropped off his face and his eyes went back to the ceiling. "Dom, I'm serious." He closed his eyes and breathed out through his nose. Finally, he sat up and regarded her with dark eyes.

"She's gone, Mia," his voice was rough.

"You need to go out there," Mia murmured. Dom frowned.

"What?"

"You need to go out there," she repeated, her voice firm. "You need to go out there and tell her that you love her. That you want her back. That you want an actual relationship—that's the only reason she's with Luca now! Because he was ready to commit to her—"

"Luca?" Mia was cut off midsentence by her brothers voice, so soft it was barely audible. "That's the guy?" Mia sucked in her lower lip. Dom let out a harsh breath and sat up, rubbing his calloused hands over his face. Finally, he turned his face to look at her, an angry expression in his eyes. "Shit, Mia, how much do you know about him? About what's going on?"

"She's my bestfriend, Dom," Mia knew she was treading on dangerous ground here. "Of course I know things." His hard gaze continued to be locked on hers and she shook her head. "No, Dom, I'm not going to give you the low down on Letty's relationship. Because it should be you two together. And you know that. You're just too bloody stupid to do anything." Dom's eyes narrowed.

"Watch it, Mia," he growled. Mia snapped her mouth shut but continued to glare at him. "Just...Just leave, okay? I need you to leave me alone." She stayed for a moment longer before getting up and leaving the room. Dom laid back on his bed, his breathing harsh. He had never been the kind to over think things, but these months had sent him into an almost girlish state of mind. And now with the name, _Luca, _he couldn't help but imagine Letty breathing out that name, in a way that she once had said his. He wondered if this _Luca _made her moan the way he made her moan, if he knew where to kiss her to make her toes curl, if he knew how sensitive her feet were, that a long slow massage starting at her feet and making their way up her legs and to the apex of her thighs could bring her to the brink of an orgasm.

He wondered if she loved him.

* * *

The next time he saw her, it was Mia's birthday. She had flown in the night before, and Dom had purposefully worked late at the garage, sleeping on the leather couch. He knew his sister would be excited to have her bestfriend, her sister, back, and if he was there, he would only cast a shadow over her excitement. He showered in the little bathroom at the back of the garage, pulling on clean clothes and sliding into his Daytona Charger, making his way home. Before he even made it to the house, he could smell breakfast—undoubtedly pancakes with boysenberry syrup, his sisters favourite. And then he heard Letty's laugh, and almost ran back to his car.

The affect that she had on him was incredible.

"Dom, my man! Didn't think you'd make it in time for breakfast!" Vince shouted out from the doorway when he spotted his friend. Dom raised his eyebrows, plastering a neutral expression on his face. The minute he walked in the door, his eyes sought out Letty, who was standing on the far side of the room, beside the oven, next to Mia. Brian had his arms around Mia's waist and Letty was cooking the pancakes, looking completely domesticated with a smudge of pancake batter on her cheek. The easy going smile she had dropped as her eyes met Dom's. Jesse kept up bubbly conversation to stop any awkward silences, and Letty lowered her eyes back to the frying pan and she turned her body slightly so that she was facing away from him. Dom plastered a tight smile on his face as he crossed the room to where the girls were.

"Happy birthday, sis," he murmured, kissing her on the forehead. "Hey, Brian." The blonde nodded at him, giving the bigger man a grin. "Hey, Let," his voice dropped even impossibly lower and he gave her a kiss on the side of the head, his lips barely brushing her hair as he attempted to be polite.

"Hi," she muttered, shooting him a quick glance before looking back at the frying pan. "Aight guys! Breakfast's up!" Letty spun around and the boys rushed. "Uh-uh!" She quickly pulled the frying pan back in close to her. "Birthday girl get's the first one!" Mia laughed as the boys faces fell. Letty poked her tongue out at them and shifted her free hand, grabbing a spatula and digging out the first pancake. The sudden exposure of her left hand had Dom's eyes flying wide open.

"I've, uh, I've..." Dom was backing so fast out of the kitchen that he nearly tripped over his own feet. "I needa go change. Slept in these clothes..." he had barely finished his sentence before he was running up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Letty swallowed hard as she looked at Mia. Upstairs, Dom slammed his door shut and sat down on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands.

She was engaged.

She was going to _marry _this Luca guy.

"Dom?" Letty's voice was quiet from the doorway. Dom's head snapped up as she entered the room. Both her hands were shoved into the pockets of her jeans, obviously to hide the ring. She kicked the door shut behind her and sat down next to him, licking her lips nervously. "I wanted to tell you...But it wasn't really the kind of thing you say over the phone."

"Did you tell Mia?" He asked softly.

"Well, yeah," she gave a one shouldered shrug. "But that's not the same." He nodded, his lips pressed in a thin line. They sat there in silence for a good few minutes, both staring at the opposite wall, too scared to look at each other.

"Do you love him?" Dom asked abruptly. Letty pursed her lips.

"Yes," she finally said. Dom let out a hiss and got off the bed, crossing the room to the window and looking outside. Letty swallowed hard. "He's a good man. He has a good job, comes from a good family. My mum loves him." Dom was trying hard to block her out, her words only torturing him more. But he needed to hear it. She got off the bed, walking over to him hesitantly. She stood behind him, so close he could feel her body heat although not quite touching him. "I don't love him the way I loved you, Dom. But maybe that's a good thing." Dom took in a deep breath before turning around, looking down at her, their faces inches apart, their breath whispering over each others lips.

"How is that a good thing, Letty?" He growled softly.

"Because loving you isn't healthy, Dom," she murmured. "It was never meant to be anything serious between us. We're too alike. We're not good for each other."

"You can't say that for certain! We never tried!" He protested.

"We could have! I could tell when you were thinking about being in a relationship with me! You would start looking at me differently, and you would give me these little kisses that weren't sexual at all," her breathing was coming out shallowly. "So I would stop sleeping with you, see what you would do...And you would always run back to one of those racer chasers! _Always_." Dom knew what she was saying was true, and in his heart he had always known that it had been a test. A test he failed over and over again.

"How do you know you love him? You've only been gone just over a year," he tried a different tactic. Letty licked her lips quickly.

"We're engaged, Dom. We're not married yet...I'm not planning on being married for a few years yet."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I think maybe...Maybe I just needed to know that someone could be faithful to me, to only want me. Luca was the first guy who showed me that," she sighed. "I'm gonna go back downstairs, Dom. It's not fair that we're up here when it's Mia's birthday." She backed away from him, and he turned to watch her, catching another glimpse of the ring on her finger as she reached for the doorknob.

"Letty," the pain in his voice made her hesitate. "Letty, I wanted you. I don't know why I kept sleeping with those other girls—whenever I was with them, I just wanted to be with you." She couldn't look back at him, not with the way he was talking, his voice breaking with emotion. "I think I was scared. I never felt that way about anyone before. I thought if we got into a relationship, I would fuck it up, and then everything would be ruined. But after you left, I thought maybe when you got back...Maybe we could make it work." He swallowed hard and glanced back out the window.

"You should have told me," Letty's voice was soft.

"I'm telling you now," Dom replied. The silence stretched between them before Letty finally opened the door.

"I better go downstairs," she whispered. Dom was still facing the window, and didn't see the tears that were clouding her brown eyes.

* * *

Letty left again, two days later. Dom had moved around her silently, spending most of his time at the garage. Before she left for the airport, he had come home. The exchange was quiet, almost awkward, as he murmured goodbye and kissed her on the cheek. He tried hard not to look down, but couldn't help it as she grabbed her bag from the kitchen floor and backed away from him. The ring on her left finger had winked up at him, teasing him, mocking him about what could have been. He went straight up to his room, closing the door and shutting his curtains, staring blankly at the TV across the room from his bed. He fell into a dreamless sleep a few minutes later and didn't wake for almost ten hours. The next day, his body still felt heavy, numb, as though it wasn't under his control. He moved around the house aimlessly before finally going to the garage. The boys all looked up at him questioningly from the cars they were working on; Dom was never late to work. Everyone knew better to say anything though, and just gave each other knowing looks before going back to their cars.

Dom stayed late—hours after the other boys left. After he finished on every car they had in the garage, he went out the back to where their weight set was. He lifted the weights, using his arms and legs, until his limbs were numb, until he felt physically sick from exertion. Sweat was pouring down his face and back as he stumbled toward the shower, standing underneath the spray, his legs still shaking. Then he fell onto the beaten up couch in the small office, sleep taking over his body.

* * *

"Okay, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe he's sick?" Vince raised an eyebrow.

"Love sick," Leon rolled his eyes.

"Both of you shut your mouths," Mia growled as she dished up their breakfast. Vince and Leon met each others gazes and made a face before digging into their breakfasts. Jesse had been watching the exchange from the doorway where he was finishing his cigarette, and he licked his lips.

"He misses her, huh?" Mia looked over at the younger boy.

"We _all _miss her," she stated. "But we're not going to talk about it because if he walks through that door and we're talking about her, he's gonna go back upstairs, to bed, and we're not going to see him for _another _day." The boys fell quiet as Dom came into the room. Mia looked over at her brother, biting her lip to stop herself from saying anything. His eyes were blank and red, scratchy from the lack of the sleep. He sat down silently at the table, eating what Mia had put in front of him.

He had fallen into a routine that everyone knew wasn't healthy. He worked at the garage until late at night, and then push his body—weights, running, pull-ups—anything to make his body feel. He would usually fall asleep on the couch in the garage, or the nights that he would make it home, it would be well past two in the morning. Then he would be back up with the rest of them at seven in the morning. Sometimes he wouldn't be home for a week on end, living off the left overs in the fridge of the garage and showering in the tiny cubicle in the back bathroom. One thing Mia didn't miss was the parade of woman. She was pretty sure that there hadn't been one girl in his room other than her since Letty had left.

"When do you think you'll be coming back again?" Mia asked, twirling a strand of hair around her finger as she lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

"I don't know, girl..." Letty's voice was distant. "Things were just getting a little...Complicated last time I was there." The two girls were quiet for a few moments. Mia licked her lower lip, wondering how to approach the subject of her brother.

"He misses you...He's, um...He's kinda falling apart, Let," the girl tried not to let her voice portray her emotions but Letty heard the wobble at the end of the sentence.

"What you mean, Mia?" She asked softly.

"He's at the garage, he works out, he sleeps," Mia replied. "That's it." She heard Letty swallow hard on the other end of the line.

"That's it?"

"That's it." Mia confirmed Letty's unanswered question. She knew that the fact Dom wasn't sleeping around anymore would impact her friend, and that was what she was counting on.

"Mia, I've...I've got to go..."

* * *

Three months went by.

Letty didn't call Mia again, and Mia didn't ring her.

Her brother and her bestfriend were alike it that way—when they needed to think, when they needed to grieve, they needed to be alone. She hoped that it meant what she had said had made an impact on the other girl.

* * *

Dom's fingers were buried deep in an engine, sweat running down his arms and bare torso. It was almost nine at night and he was still working, determined not to stop until he had finished on the final car. The boys had left hours ago, shooting looks over their shoulders as they left, wondering whether they should say something to their friend or not. They eventually decided against it, knowing that he would just ignore them anyway. He was so engrossed in his own thoughts, he didn't hear the footsteps behind him. Didn't see the shadow on the ground beside him.

"Pretty late to be working, man."

The voice made him stop short, fingers halting abruptly and breath catching in his throat.

"You must be getting killer over time." Dom turned around, his eyes narrowed.

"Nah, the boss is kind of a jerk." Letty gave him a half smile.

"No arguments here." Her hands were buried deep in the pockets of her red leather jacket, and her jaw was locked nervously. He licked his lips as he watched her.

"What are you doing here, Letty?" He finally asked. She pursed her lips, looking around the garage before her eyes finally met his.

"I want to come home, Dom," her voice was soft. "And I want to come home to you." Dom's expression was guarded as he wiped his hands on a cloth. He tried not to let his emotions play out across his face. What she was saying was too good to be true. Letty took a step closer. "Ya know, maybe you were right..." he knew how hard it was for her to say those words. "Maybe I never gave us a proper chance." She finally pulled her hands out of her pockets and Dom felt himself sigh in relief when he saw her fingers bare.

"Next time you're not sure about something, I'd rather you ask me, than run off to another country and get engaged," he replied wryly. Letty rolled her eyes.

"Next time you have sex with a racer chaser, I better be dead." Dom finally let himself smile. Letty grinned back, that grin that lit up her eyes and made his heart swell. He closed the distance between them and gripped her left hand, holding it in his larger hand.

"Next time you have a ring on that finger, it better be from me." His mouth was inches from hers.

"Aight, big man," her words whispered across his lips. "I can live with that."

_Let me know what you guys think :)_


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